Monday, November 30, 2009

MAE WEST said: "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough."• • This statement could easily describe her handsome co-star Cary Grant, who died in the month of November.• • It’s a kick to see Cary [18 January 1904 — 29 November 1986] opposite Mae West before his own movie star image had solidified. The promise may be there, but Grant is stiff in the role of Captain Cummings. He would not yet become the polished and adroit comic leading man that he turned himself into by the end of the nineteen-thirties. As the uniformed do-gooder, he is baby-faced and no real match for West’s dominating presence.• • Cary Grant was not yet thirty the first time he starred opposite West, and his age adds another provocative element to West’s gleefully taboo-busting, sexually frank presence. “To be sexual with younger men has been, according to Hollywood, a female sin punishable by death or dishonor,” feminist film critic Kathi Maio writes in her book Popcorn and Sexual Politics. “There have only been rare exceptions. When Mae West encouraged Cary Grant, a much younger man, to come up and see her sometime, she wasn’t interested in baking him a batch of brownies. Mae was sexy, but her blatant bawdiness was never threatening because her come hither looks were played for comedy. And besides, Mae West got to break the rules governing female comportment because Mae West was a law unto herself.”• • Kathi Maio is mostly right here — — West really does seem to be a law unto herself as she shimmies across the screen and swaps lascivious double entendres, but what Maio neglects to acknowledge is that there were a great number of people who did find West extremely threatening, and that her persona only emerged as the result of cleverness and persistence in the face of censorship.• • As for Cary Grant's emerging persona, he confessed, "I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be and I finally became that person. Or he became me. Or we met at some point.” In other words, Cary came up sometime — — to see his better self.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

MAE WEST backed into a screenplay that had been a Broadway box-office blockbuster.• • In "Go West Young Man" — — released on 18 November 1936 — — Mae West stepped into a role created as a Broadway comedy that poked fun at "Hollywood dementia" and featured Gladys George [1900 — 1954] in the role of a sultry jezebel. The long-running stage hit told the story of a movie star and diva, Carole Arden, who is on a tour giving personal appearances to promote her latest film, "Drifting Lady." Her car breaks down, which leads to her amorous encounter with a young, handsome gas station attendant, Chester "Bud" Norton.• • Lawrence Riley [1896 — 1974] was a successful American playwright and screenwriter, who died in the month of November. In 1934, he became famous as the author of the Broadway hit "Personal Appearance," which was tuned up by Mae West into the leading role of Mavis Arden.• • The big screen version of "Personal Appearance," starring Mae West, was directed by Henry Hathaway. The film situates Mae in a role not originally conceived for her. Randolph Scott co-starred and the film was released by Paramount Pictures. The success launched the playwright on his second career as a screenwriter — — a somewhat ironical development in view of Riley's satire of Hollywood in "Personal Appearance," a Broadway bonanza that ran for 501 performances. • • Born in 1896 in Warren, Pennsylvania, Riley set his breakthrough play "Personal Appearance" in Pennsylvania. This play earned him a fortune. During his career as a screenwriter, he maintained homes in both New York City and Hollywood.• • Later in life, the Rileys had been long-time residents of Riverside, a section of the town of Greenwich, Connecticut. On 29 November 1974, Lawrence Riley died at Stamford Hospital (Stamford, Connecticut) at the age of 78.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1936 review • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

A benefit in Lagoa last weekend, that raised funds for a local Donkey Sanctuary, staged a splashy tribute to three iconic artists — — MAE WEST, Edith Piaf, and Amy Winehouse — — and we will let The Portugal News tell the tale.• • According to The Portugal News staff: Last year she swore she would never do another, this year she said the same, but thank goodness every year director Jenny Grainer changes her mind and puts together one of the region’s most fabulous nights of top acts for what has become the Annual Grand Variety Show — — all in the name of charity.• • This year the Grand Variety Show — — held on Sunday night in Lagoa’s auditorium and hailed by a full house as the best to date — — raised a fantastic total of €3,572.55, made solely from ticket and raffle sales.• • Of that amount, €730, raised from the raffle ticket sales alone, will be donated to the Donkey Sanctuary animal refuge, the rest benefiting Lagoa’s Santa Casa da Misericórdia.• • Thirteen different acts took to the stage for Sunday evening’s show, none of whom had rehearsed together before and yet on the night came together beautifully. Never before had so many fantastic (and voluntary) performers shared a stage.• • Following an introduction to the benefitting charities by Jenny Grainer, and a word from the evening’s ever-amusing host Ian Carfrae, the show kicked off with ‘Tributes to Iconic Artists.’• • Tributes to Iconic Artists: 3 Divas of the Decade • •• • Brilliant impersonations of Mae West (Lara Costa), Amy Winehouse (Carrie-Marie Bratley), and an eerily flawless Edith Piaf (Gloria Costa) followed the Stars Dance School’s toe-tapping tribute to the legendary Michael Jackson. Back-stage sources exclusively told The Portugal News that while notorious Amy did enjoy a glass of wine or two, Mae West and Edith Piaf were tea-total when they took to the stage and oddly none of them made diva-like demands — — except Mae West, whose requests were actually quite basic — — salt and vinegar crisps and a bottle of cold water.• • The three ‘Divas of the Decade’ shared a dressing room and between them managed to put the world to rights as well as putting on one of the best performances of their careers. ...— — Excerpt: — —• • Article: It was all all right on the night• • Published by: The Portugal News — — www.the-news.net• • Published on: 28 November 2009• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Take a piece of MAE WEST history home on 3 December 2009 — — when an auction is offering a nice bit of memorabilia.• • Lot 969 is a signed, canceled check along with a black and white photo from "She Done Him Wrong" [1933].• • Mae wrote a check for $75 to Marie Musero of Van Nuys, California on 22 July 1937.• • Current Collect.com will take bids during their Sports & Americana auction that ends next Thursday. Opening bid will be $100.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1937 check • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

To raise funds for a venerable Michigan theatre, an impressionist will conjure up MAE WEST on 27 November 2009 — — and other late luminaries.• • This Friday evening at 8 o'clock, the Park Theatre Foundation will present “Judy’s Old Fashioned Christmas” starring Michael Holmes and guest Cici Gramer. CiCi Gramer will open the show and will be followed by Michael Holmes as Mae West, Judy Garland, Carol Channing, and Bette Davis.• • Costumed as Mae West and Judy Garland, Holmes has made appearances from Maui to Manhattan and many places on the map. The Palm Springs resident has appeared in such venues as the Queen Mary 2, BoarsHead Theater, and The Iao Theater in cities including New York, London, Chicago, Winston-Salem, Lexington, Indianapolis, and Palm Springs, California.• • WHERE: Park Theatre, 248 River Avenue, Saugatuck, MI 49453.• • Info: telephone 616-355-7275.• • Tell them the MAE WEST Blog sent you.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

A motion picture comedy starring MAE WEST will be screened for free in Florida shortly.• • “Every Day’s A Holiday” [1937] will be shown at the Fort Pierce Library at 2:00 PM on Friday, 4 December 2009.• • Set in New York City during the 1890s, the movie's musical numbers include "Jubilee" (written by Stanley Adams and Hoagy Carmichael and sung by Louis Armstrong). Seen very briefly as a street cleaner, Louis Armstrong introduces the song "Jubilee" while parading down the street along with other street sweepers during an election rally.• • WHERE: Fort Pierce Library, 101 Melody Lane, Fort Pierce, Florida; T. 772-462-2787.• • Tell them the MAE WEST Blog sent you.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

A former assistant of MAE WEST claims that the Brooklyn blonde remained Gene Austin's "one true love." Mae utilized her Texas friend's musical talents in her films "Belle of the Nineties" [1934]; "Klondike Annie" [1936]; and "My Little Chickadee" [1940].• • In addition to writing the music and lyrics for "Klondike Annie," Gene Austin also appears as a vocalist and organ player during the church service. As the collection is in progress, Gene Austin and the parishioners sing "It's Better to Give Than to Receive."• • Seven years younger than Mae, Gene Austin was born in Texas on 24 June 1900 and was heavily influenced by the black blues musicians he enjoyed while growing up.• • David Christopher, who wound up working as Mae West's assistant after meeting her in Los Angeles, is producing a cabaret series that will honor Austin.• • A fascinating and revealing interview was skillfully done by Bruce Fessier for The Desert Sun.• • Fessier writes: David Christopher's Palm Springs home is a shrine to two icons of the 20th century.• • Framed posters, album covers and photos of Mae West and Gene Austin dominate the singer's living room. He keeps Austin's last piano in his bedroom, which he calls “My Blue Heaven Room.”• • Mae West was the greatest female comedy film star of the 1930s, a blonde bombshell who co-starred with Raquel Welch in “Myra Breckinridge” at age 77.• • Gene Austin was the best-selling recording artist of the 1920s, but he died virtually unknown in Palm Springs at age 71 after walking away from big-time show biz in the 1930s. His last show was at the old Jack London restaurant on North Indian Canyon Drive on New Year's Eve, 1971.• • Christopher, 63, grew up listening to Austin records collected by his grandmother, a dancer in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1916. He developed a sweet tenor similar to Austin's by singing along to his records on a wind-up Victrola.• • Christopher wound up working as Mae West's assistant after meeting her after a concert in Los Angeles. When he sang with her longtime guitarist, Otto “Coco” Heimel, West would swoon, “Oh, dear, it sounds just like Gene.”• • Christopher moved to Palm Springs after West's death in 1980 and got a job with Phil and the late Grace Moody in The Moody Singers cabaret troupe.• • Phil Moody had been Mae West's music director • •• • He didn't know Grace Moody had toured with Austin under the guidance of Elvis Presley's future manager, Tom Parker, or that Phil Moody had been Mae West's music director for her Las Vegas “muscle men” act. Grace's late sister, Pony Sherrell, also was married to Austin in the 1940s, and she and Phil wrote musical comedy material for Mae West.• • Austin lived with the Moodys in Palm Springs from 1971 until his death at Desert Regional Medical Center on Jan. 24, 1972. He wrote his last song at their house on a piano Phil Moody recently gave to Christopher. It was called “I'm All In, I'm Out and I'm Down” — — and it chronicled how he had lost or given away his multimillion-dollar fortune and now, no one seemed to know him.• • “He made it, he spent it, he gave it away, he enjoyed it and he had no regrets,” TV producer Paul Henning said at his eulogy. “He didn't reminisce about his glorious, affluent past. As he used to say, ‘Gotta be where the action is. Look ahead; don't look back.'”• • Christopher will sing that song at his tribute to Austin [22 November 2009] at Lyons English Grille in Palm Springs. It's part of a cabaret series he's producing that will run from Jan. 10 through April.• • It will feature Bobby Furgo, a Snuff Smith-influenced violinist who toured with Eric Burdon; jazz guitarist Hal Brane and pianist Ron Snyder.• • Christopher performed an Austin salute in 2006 featuring Austin's biggest hits, such as “My Blue Heaven,” the best-selling record of the 1920s and '30s; “Ramona,” the first million-selling movie theme song; and “Bye Bye Blackbird,” named to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1978. He also sang Austin's version of “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” which Parker liked so much, he asked Elvis to record it.• • This show, titled “I'm In A Mellow Mood: Gene Austin, the Later Years,” holds more national interest because it focuses on a part of his career that foreshadowed Elvis. ...• • Mae West was Gene Austin's "one true love" • •• • Gene Austin opened a Los Angeles nightclub in the 1930s and also made some films with Mae West, whom he met in the 1920s.• • Christopher feels Mae West remained Austin's one true love through his five marriages to other women.• • “I always thought the love songs he wrote were written with Miss West in mind,” said Christopher. “It was a sad love affair because Miss West was so concentrated on her career, she would not let any one person interfere with her life. She denied herself happiness with any other person because she was so career driven.”• • Phil Moody, 88, thinks West and Austin were in love even when Austin was married to Moody's sister-in-law, Pony Sherrell.• • “It's just a thought,” he said. “I never asked about people having an affair, but now I can speak openly about it.” ...• • Turn to The Desert Sun to savor the rest.— — Excerpt: — —• • Article: "Singer's legacy kept alive through fans, memories"• • BY: Bruce Fessier• • Published by: The Desert Sun — — www.mydesert.com• • Published on: 22 November 2009• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • with Gene Austin and W.C. Fields, 1940 • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Monday, November 23, 2009

MAE WEST entertained thousands of Mae-mavens at The Mapes.• • According to sports betting expert Ross Everett, The Mapes Hotel (which opened in 1947) in Reno, Nevada was an important part of Northern Nevada history. Ushering in a new era in casino gambling, The Mapes was actually the first property in the country to combine a hotel, casino, and live entertainment under the same roof.• • Writing for The Daily Downer, Ross Everett explains: It also became the hotel of choice for celebrities staying in Northern Nevada. Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe stayed at The Mapes during the filming of "The Misfits." During the Rat Pack era of the 1950s and 1960s it became, along with the Cal-Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe, the place to be seen in Northern Nevada. The 11th floor, window-walled Sky Room Lounge hosted performances by a roster of entertainment legends — — including Mae West, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Louis Prima, Keely Smith, and Milton Berle.• • After enjoying a long bout of prosperity, The Mapes foundered and closed in 1982 and was demolished in 2000 despite attempts to preserve it.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

At age 87, MAE WEST suffered a series of strokes which finally resulted in her death on 22 November 1980 in Hollywood, California. • • The actress took her final breaths quietly in her Hollywood apartment (Ravenswood). Private services [conducted by Dr. Lloyd Ogilvie and attended by about 100 close friends and family] were held in the Old North Church at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills.• • Her eulogy, written by Kevin Thomas and delivered by producer Ross Hunter, concluded: “Mae West always said that no one was ever to feel sorry for her, and she would not want anyone to start now. Mae West figured that in one way or another she would live forever. And she probably will.”• • Entombment was in the West family mausoleum at Cypress Hills Abbey in Brooklyn, New York.• • Cause of death: Complications from stroke• • Burial: Cypress Hills Cemetery• • Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, USA• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1932 • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

A revival of "Sex" by MAE WEST plays through 21 November 2009 at North Lakeside Cultural Center, 6219 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago. Mae wrote the play in 1926 and starred in it as the frisky and unapologetic prostitute Margy LaMont. • • Drama critic K.D. Hopkins "got lost in the action." Let's enjoy the entire review, shall we?• • K.D. Hopkins writes: Okay, not quite a century but close enough since 1926 when Mae West wrote, produced, and starred in “Sex” on Broadway. She was a woman ahead of the curve and the Prologue Theatre Company’s production is a compelling tribute.• • I have been privileged to view another of director Margo Gray’s productions, “The Wonder-A Woman Keeps A Secret,” earlier this year at the Heartland Studio. I recall her agility with the small set and the remarkable cast.• • This staging of “Sex” takes place at the North Lakeside Cultural Center (6219 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago) and it is in my opinion a great setting. The Center is a mansion that was occupied at the same time in which the play is set.• • The cast inhabits the era like apparitions made flesh. The dialog and slang of the 1920’s has the inherent possibility of sounding dated or stilted but that is not the case with the talented cast.• • This is the tale of Margy LaMont who is a good-time girl working her way to the top in Montreal’s red light district in 1926. Jes Bedwinek plays Margy with a razor-tough edge.• • Ms. Bedwinek has a beautiful face that resembles a vintage cameo and like the rest of the cast has the body carriage of the time dictated by fashion and the stars such as Mae West, Gloria Swanson, and a young Cary Grant. • • Margy takes no guff from her smarmy business manager Rocky who is played with diabolical glee by Nathan Pease. “Sex” is both dramatic and funny as was its writer. The voice of Ms. West is heard in every line uttered. Her unfiltered view of proper society and the mores of the age still translate in the 21st century.• • The play pulls no punches in pointing out both the hypocrisy and duality projected onto women when it comes to sex. The character of Clara Stanton is a society lady who comes to Montreal looking for good times on the down low.• • Anne Sheridan Smith plays Mrs. Stanton with both patrician nobility and the necessary underbelly. Margy comes to Clara’s rescue and is rewarded by having to ditch Montreal and follow the fleet. What goes around comes around in a comical and yet riveting final act.• • Two of my favorite local actors are in this production. Sean Patrick Ward as Jimmy Stanton and Christopher Chamblee as Lt. Gregg. I enjoyed them immensely in the aforementioned “Wonder” production. They bring the same charisma and embodiment of their characters to “Sex.”• • Mr. Ward seems to have stepped directly from a movie screen channeling Richard Burton. Mr. Chamblee as the charming Australian lieutenant can break your heart with his portrayal of unrequited and true love for Margy LaMont.• • Rebecca L. Mauldin is another standout as the doomed Agnes. She is all nerves, sadness, and regret as the bad girl who longs for her family and a home. • • DeRante Parker is quite funny and touching in several roles but primarily as Condez the bartender who serves as emcee leading the audience to different rooms in the house for each act.• • The choice of this particular mansion for the play was brilliant. The house is a character as much as the actors. Some of this is due to brilliant set design by Carrie Hardin. The apartment shared by Margy and Rocky is a slightly tatty flop perfect for the era and the profession.• • The Cultural Center has the dark wood, stained glass, and built-in nooks that put the viewer in the 1920’s. The fireplace is a funny motif in the final act when the characters came in from outside.• • Leaves blew in from Sheridan Road and the actors were really windswept a bit. I got lost in the action. That should be the intention of any production.• • This was not a classic morality tale in the Jazz Age. West wrote from a perspective that has a woman a right to not be ashamed of her sexuality. That shook the rafters during the Jazz Age. West and most of the cast were arrested on vice and morals charges even though the play was a smash hit. • • Throughout the parlor and in the upstairs lounge, there are portraits by Ernest J. Belloq of Storyville prostitutes, as well as some history of the play and Mae West. The play is not set in Storyville, which is the old red light district of New Orleans, but the portraits add to the ambiance of “Sex.”• • The inimitable Mae West was a trailblazer for women in the arts and in society. Go see this unique production.• • “Sex” runs Thursday through Saturday at 8:00pm until November 21, 2009.— — Source: — — • • Theatre Review: Almost a Century of 'Sex' • • BY: K.D. Hopkins• • Published by: The Urban Coaster — — www.theurbancoaster.com• • Published on: 18 November 2009 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Friday, November 20, 2009

When MAE WEST was featured at the Central Theatre [Broadway & West 47th Street] on 25 December 1920, she had no idea that Santa Nick had a sweet little career surprise waiting. • • Irish-American comedian Jimmy Hussey [1891 — 1930] was the star attraction that Christmas Day. Also performing were Phil Baker and Aileen Stanley — — but Mae West must have pulled focus and attracted Hussey's attention.• • Born in Chicago in 1891, James J. Hussey made his stage debut (accidentally) when he attended a performance in The Windy City and started singing choruses from the balcony. Instead of getting thrown out, he won a contract and started appearing on the Shubert vaudeville circuit.• • Clearly, Mae left the right impression on Christmas Day 1920. Several months later, Hussey wrote the book and the lyrics for the revue that would be renamed "The Mimic World 1921." He made sure his new material was custom-tailored to Mae's unique talents. She was cast in many prominent skits in this production — — including the con artist "Shifty Liz."• • Clearly with Mae's approval and cooperation, Hussey penned the skit "The Trial of Shimmy Mae." Hussey himself played the judge as Mae demonstrated the shimmy in his topsy-turvy courtroom.• • For the skit "The Bridal Suite," Jimmy Hussey took the role of a busy newly-wed who has to leave his honeymoon for a business meeting. In his absence, the pretty bride entertains her lovers, making her own appointments. "The Bridal Suite" was scrapped from the revue when it had a Boston try-out. The censors also cut the lights when Shimmy Mae started to dance.• • "The Mimic World 1921" opened on 17 August 1921 and Hussey's close friend, Jack Dempsey (another Irish-American) attended the premiere, and visited Mae backstage after the show.• • Death at age 39 on 20 November 1930• •• • Jimmy Hussey, who was a brilliant success onstage as a Jewish comedian, died at age 39 of pneumonia on 20 November 1930. Mae West attended his memorial service, which was held at St. Malachy's on West 49th Street, a ceremony that also commemorated the recent deaths of two other Roman Catholic colleagues of hers, Tommy Gray and Tony Pastor.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1921 • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Through November 21st you can enjoy "Sex" by MAE WEST in a new production by Prologue Theatre directed by Margo Gray.• • Chicago critic Paige Listerud had this assessment: I’ve long wanted to see Sex, the play that put Mae West in jail. Mae West was one of America’s great crossover artists, bringing more risqué influences from vaudeville and jazz to the so-called “legitimate” stage on Broadway. She appropriated elements from African-American artists and the drag balls of the Pansy Craze, lifting comic styling wholesale from female impersonators Burt Savoy and Julian Eltinge. For her part, West daringly imported queer culture into the mainstream with her plays The Drag and The Pleasure Man. But then Mae West was about all sex, not just the straight variety.• • Prologue Theatre Company is obviously conscious of the historical value of these American theatrical and cultural developments, staging Sex at the turn-of-the-century Gunder Mansion, now serving as the North Lakeside Cultural Center. The play occurs en promenade, an element that both does and doesn’t work for the production. Transitioning the audience from room to room certainly emphasizes shifts in place from Montreal to Trinidad to Connecticut. However, the time it takes for the audience to make it into their seats from one room to the next also produces clumsy delays between scenes and the travel up and down stairs definitely limits accessibility.• • What created scandal in West’s time seems tame in ours. Yet Jes Bedwinek, as the savvy working girl Margy Lamont, infuses her leading role with the right amount of suggestiveness. She borrows just enough of West’s timing and inflections without devolving into an utter Mae West caricature–successfully acknowledging her illustrious forebear while at the same time making the role her own. Anne Sheridan Smith molds her role as the philandering society matron Clara Stanton, to be the perfectly balanced foil to Bedwinek’s Margy—just as lusty, yet hemmed in by cultural refinement and conventional restraints. As the doomed prostitute Agnes, Rebecca L. Maudlin brings realism and sympathy to a role that could have been rendered as simply pathetic. It’s a woman’s play, after all; the things of greatest consequence happen to the women characters.• • Director Margo Gray has honed the cast to adhere to naturalism, as opposed to the heavily stylized acting of West’s era. It’s a choice that definitely scales the production to the more intimate setting of Gunder Mansion, as well as clarifying and updating the play for a modern audience. It’s also a choice that exposes the weaknesses of uneven casting. Gray has brought from her successful run of The Wonder: a Woman Keeps a Secret Sean Patrick Ward (Jimmy Stanton) and Christopher Chamblee (Lt. Gregg), yet many cast performances are too scattershot to convey a cohesive ensemble. Nathan Pease’s turn as Margy’s pimp, Rocky, is sleazy enough yet still doesn’t contain the menace needed to threaten convincingly.• • For my money, the audience gets stinted the most during the more vaudevillian portions of the play. The opening of the first scene in Trinidad should shine with musical numbers that warm the audience to Margy’s culminating performance of “Shake That Thing”—a classic Ethel Waters tune that Mae West appropriated. A little more jazz and enthusiasm, as well as a little more shakin’ that thing, might easily make up for musical deficiencies. Or perhaps Tinuade Oyelowo should be given more numbers to rock the audience with that voice of hers. Whatever the case, this is supposed to be the Roaring Twenties, not the Ironic 90’s or the Tight-ass 50’s. It’s not a good sign when there’s more fun to be had listening to the singing of drunken sailors on shore leave.• • All in all, the shortcoming’s of Prologue’s production resigns it to community theater status for all their efforts. As Mae would know, it takes performers with a lot more on the ball than this to produce good old-fashioned entertainment.— — Source: — —• • Review: Prologue Theatre presents: "Sex" by Mae West• • Prologue Theatre’s “Sex” Only Puts Out a Little —• • Reviewed by: Paige Listerud• • Published by: Chicago Theater Blog — — chicagotheaterblog.com• • Published on: 6 November 2009• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

A revival of "Sex" by MAE WEST is afoot in Chicago. One intensely handsome Midwest theatre maven was in the aisle seat. Lean in to listen. • • Chicago Theatre Addict Bob writes: Prologue Theatre Company’s deliciously detailed production of Mae West’s Sex transports you back to a fringy flapper era where good girls go bad and bad girls try to go good, but ultimately, bad girls just wanna have fun.• • It’s like “Showgirls,” circa 1920.• • Well, not *really* (don’t go expecting Charleston-inspired pole dancing); however, just like that Elizabeth Berkley classic, this bawdy work was panned by the critics and jeered by the morality police, but the audiences came out in droves to see what all the hub-bub was about.• • Prologue’s production, creatively staged at the historic North Lakeside Cultural Center by director Margo Gray, is more charming than cheap. Time only magnifies the creaky structure of West’s novice work, with inorganic emotional shifts to merely advance the plot (such as a prissy society housewife suddenly empathizing with the hooker who’s preparing to wed her son) and the heavy reliance on stock secondary characters. However, the care and detail that goes into this production makes it an endearing evening of entertainment.• • As Margy, the pragmatic hooker with a heart of gold and balls of steel, Jes Bedwinek follows Mae West’s lead, but doesn’t go into camp. While the role really requires a star to make the show spin, Bedwinek takes a more human approach, which mostly works. Thankfully, the bawdy line readings still resonate. And you begin to feel for Bedwinek’s Margy as she reluctantly starts to let down her guard for a young suitor, despite him not knowing her less-than-reputable past.• • Another standout in the cast is Anne Sheridan Smith as the Connecticut sophisticate who has more in common with Margy than she may care to acknowledge. Her frenzied, uptight performance plays nicely against Bedwinek’s sly Margy.• • However, the star of this production is the venue. Generally, I’m not a fan of promenade staging, but Gray has used the sprawling Cultural Center effectively. Audience members get up and move around only a few times to signify a key scene change, and during the transitions, actors keep the momentum going by drunkenly singing in the hallway or flirting with you from the doorways. The inclusion of an intermission, however, seems a misstep, only for the break in atmosphere that’s been so thoughtfully set.• • Kudos to set and costume designer Carrie Hardin — everything from the champagne glasses to the fringe-lined dresses to the dollar bills is vintage ’20s.• • “Sex” by Mae West plays through November 21, 2009 at North Lakeside Cultural Center, 6219 N. Sheridan Road.— — Source: — —• • Review: “Sex” by Mae West• • BY: Bob• • Published by: Confessions of a Chicago Theatre Addict — — chitheatreaddict.com• • Published on: 7 November 2009• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • as Margy Lamont in 1926 • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Under the golden gaze of Oscar, MAE WEST made beautiful music with this actor who was born in mid-November. • • Hailing from Winnetka, Illinois, handsome Rock Hudson [17 November 1925 — 2 October 1985] was a film and television actor who was a popular leading man during the 1960s and 1970s, most notably in several romantic screen romps with his most famous co-star Doris Day.• • Rock Hudson was voted "Star of the Year," "Favorite Leading Man," and similar titles by numerous movie magazines, and was one of the most popular and well-known movie stars of the time. He completed nearly 70 motion pictures and starred in several television productions during a career that spanned over four decades. Hudson was also one of the first major Hollywood celebrities to die from an AIDS related illness.• • In 1958, the tall, dark, and handsome heart-throb sang a memorable duet with Mae West — — "Baby, It's Cold Outside" — — during an Academy Awards Show. This was a rare invitation extended to Mae to perform during the annual Hollywood awards ceremony. As they concluded the number, Rock offered Mae a cigarette, noting that it was "king-sized" — — and Mae replied, "Mmmm, it's not the men in your life, it's the life in your men!" They ended with a long, slow, passionate kiss.• • It would never be cold inside — — if Mae West was there.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1958 • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Production began for the new MAE WEST motion picture "My Little Chickadee" on 12 November 1939.• • She had entered into negotiations for this project by the end of May 1939 with reservations due to her costar's reputation for drinking.• • Earlier that month, W.C. Fields had submitted a script called "December and Mae." In this early draft, which was set in the 1880s, the two leads were wed (but in name only) and also the co-owners of a Western-style barroom. By summer the studio had roped Grover Jones, a professional screenwriter, into the deal. Fields found Grover's ideas both tame and lame — — and urged Mae to collaborate with him instead.• • Here are a few lines that made it into the final version:• • Cuthbert J. Twillie: May I present my card?• • Flower Belle Lee: 'Novelties and Notions.' What kind of notions you got?• • Cuthbert J. Twillie: You'd be surprised. Some are old, some are new. Whom have I the honor of addressing?• • Flower Belle Lee: Mmm, call me Flower Belle.• • Cuthbert J. Twillie: Flower Belle, what a euphonious appellation. Easy on the ears and a banquet for the eyes.• • Flower Belle Lee: You're kinda cute yourself.• • Cuthbert J. Twillie: Thank you. I never argue with a lady.• • Flower Belle Lee: Smart boy.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Nothing could be finer than to enjoy MAE WEST in Carolina exactly 75 years ago.• • Spotted in the Greensboro Daily News, November 15-21, 1934:• • Movie at the Carolina Theatre: Mae West in “Belle of the Nineties” in beautiful North Carolina.• • That's what we call a real Thanksgiving treat.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Several Chicago papers have reminded Windy City citizens to go see "Sex" by MAE WEST.• • Announcing some "Sexy Weekend Haps," Kiki, for instance, encouraged her Chicago Now readers: Check out the play that put icon Mae West in the clink. Produced by the Prologue Theatre at the North Lakeside Cultural Center at 6219 N. Sheridan Rd in Roger's Park. Runs Thursday — Saturday at 8:00PM.• • Since this is the weekend that "Go West, Young Man" was released in 1936, it's apt to suggest that Mae-mavens go MIDWEST and enjoy a nice evening of "Sex."• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1926 • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Friday, November 13, 2009

A new TV documentary on sex in cinema will include clips of MAE WEST — — which makes perfect sense.• • Denver Post TV columnist Joanne Ostrow writes: Expect a spicy clip assemblage when Starz recounts the sexiest, most sex-obsessed, sexually boundary-breaking and sexually shocking movies of all time.• • From "Lolita" to "Caligula" to "American Beauty," the most memorable moments are all here. Changing public attitudes toward depictions of sex and sexuality are explored in sometimes thoughtful ways, charting America's trend toward liberation, but mostly it's about the racy clips.• • The hottest, most emblematic moments from movies that had something to do with sex are on display in a Starz Original, "Sex and the Cinema," debuting at 8 [this week].• • The documentary explores how the boundaries have changed, what the Production Code did for creative approaches to sex decades ago, why sex can be the source of elements for good drama and what audiences see when they look at on-screen sex.• • Things used to be much simpler in Hollywood, various directors note. Now, nudity in PG-13 is acceptable as long as it's not sexually motivated. The lines are blurred.• • Sex is "the strongest drive in biology," according to director Paul Verhoeven ("Basic Instinct"). He says it works better than dialogue in movies to explain characters' psychology and motivation.• • The clip fest considers funny, disturbing, athletic, and forbidden sex; merely suggested sex; kitchen-table "Postman"-style sex; underage sex; and various forms of illicit sex.• • "Nudity is the smallest part of sex," says Ron Shelton, director of "Bull Durham."• • The best sex scene in his movie "Waking the Dead," director Keith Gordon says, was the closeup of two faces during sex, relaying the experience.• • Who gets credit for bringing sex to the screen in a new way? Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Daniel Craig, George Clooney. Marilyn Monroe, of course. Bo Derek, Pamela Anderson, Halle Berry — all are sized up for their appeal. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are determined to be the "perfect storm of sexuality."• • The usual high-minded, historic art references are thrown in to make the case that sexuality has been interesting for a long time. Cut from a closeup of a Grecian urn to examples of the earliest use of film (an Edison clip from "The Kiss"), onward to Rudolph Valentino, Mae West, and the parade of naked people doing what they'll do, onscreen ever since.— — Source: — —• • TV Review: Starz rolls out sexy movie clip fest• • BY: Joanne Ostrow• • Published by: The Denver Post — — www.denverpost.com• • Published on: 11 November 2009• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

A Garden State artist draws inspiration from MAE WEST.• • During an exhibition entitled "Blonde Icons," Anthony Alansky got the opportunity to display his colorful portraits of Mae West — — as well as Marilyn Monroe, Mamie Van Doren, Madonna, and others.• • "When I was a child, I got turned on to all the great old Hollywood movies," Alansky recently told reporter Daniel O'Keefe, Staff Writer for NorthJersey.com. "I love beauty and glamour. It's just what inspires me."• • A fictional character Alansky has brought to life on canvas is a blonde bombshell named Gaemella La Amouria, a model and an actress.• • Daniel O'Keefe noted: The subject of his works has remained constant through the years. Since his youth he's felt drawn towards celebrity actresses, singers and models — larger than life starlets such as Marilyn Monroe and Madonna, whose every move is made in the spotlight. . . . In 2007, a portrait he painted of Princess Diana, which currently hangs in the hallway of his Rutherford, New Jersey residence, was featured in the book, "Diana in Art."• • Alansky's latest achievement is a portrait featured in a new book called "Letters of Little Edie Beale: Grey Gardens and Beyond." Edie Beale, or Edith Bouvier Beale, was a first cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. A socialite and model for Macy's, Beale lived a life of privilege in New York City. ...• • May all his blonde bombshells strengthen his bonds with art buyers.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

If you didn't catch MAE WEST and W.C. Fields last week in the desert, there will be a repeat of this treat in Mesquite this coming weekend. Sultry Lori Fjeld was buoyant in her boa as the blonde bombshell; W. C. Fields, in a dapper hat, came to life via comedian Ed MacKenzie. • • Reviewing the lively old-fashioned extravaganza that showcased local talent, Mesquite Goes Hollywood, David Bly of the Desert Valley Times was impressed.• • David Bly wrote: Mae West was there, vamping it to the hilt. Groucho Marx wisecracked his way across the stage. Even W. C. Fields and Clint Eastwood showed up. But the real stars were the home-grown ones who performed in Mesquite Goes Hollywood, the Virgin Valley Theatre Group’s production which opened Friday night at the Mesquite Community Theatre. Directed by Larry LeMieux, the show featured music and dances from a wide variety of movies, from Disney to Titanic, from classical to country. Although much of the accompaniment was recorded, this wasn’t karaoke night — — these performers were talented and prepared.• • Based on an interview with Larry LeMieux, now Mesquite's airport manager but formerly an Arthur Murray dance instructor, David Bly added: LeMieux admitted to some opening night jitters, but the show flowed, aided by Mae West (Lori Fjeld), Groucho (Stu Duerson) and W. C. Fields (Ed MacKenzie) whose chatter and hijinks smoothed the transitions from one number to another. ...• • Mesquite Goes Hollywood will return this coming weekend, with evening performances and a Saturday matinee on November 13th-14th.• • For details on this show and the nice people at Mesquite Community Theatre, contact the Greater Mesquite Arts Foundation on Yucca Street in Mesquite, Nevada at 702-346-1232. If you go, ask Mae West about her virgin valley and see what reaction you get.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West • • performed by Lori Fjeld • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Posing for the cover of Radio Stars Magazine, MAE WEST looks ready to rumble.• • As the major movie studios began to convert from silent movies to talking pictures, they developed ways of testing the appeal of stage and radio talent such as Mae West and Rudy Vallee. The moguls would cast radio personalities and Broadway stars in "shorts" — — comic skits, for instance — — and if these short subjects generated heat, then the individual would be offered a contract and sent off to Tinseltown.• • Chatting with the former radio star Rudy Vallee [1901 — 1986], Joe Franklin became aware of his vast magazine collection. Numerous back issues were carefully preserved in his house at the top of Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills (where the closest neighbor was Jack LaLanne). In his comfortable den, Rudy Vallee proudly displayed a great number of publications that had featured him on the cover but he also kept special back issues with cover art of people he liked — — such as Mae West — — close at hand. Vallee gave this back issue of Radio Stars, featuring a smoldering Mae, to his friend Joe Franklin.• • Any fans of old-time radio reading this blog?• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/________Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West• • Photo: • • Mae West's colleague • • Rudy Vallee • •• • Feed — —http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYCMae West.